Governmental regulations and company policies often require certain types of workers to wear fall protection equipment while working at heights.
Various types of safety equipment have been proposed for fall protection. Body belts and body harnesses are two common types of fall protection equipment. Body harnesses are utilized where vertical free fall hazards exist as body harnesses distribute the fall-arresting forces throughout a larger area of the body as compared to a body belt.
Both body belts and full body harnesses must be worn snugly around the body. Generally, a body harness includes straps that snugly encircle each upper thigh and straps that extend from below the waist area, up along the chest, and over the shoulder and down the back of the wearer in a predetermined pattern. The leg straps, the vertically extending chest and back straps, and any waist or lateral chest straps are manually adjustable by buckles or the like to achieve proper positioning and snug fitting to the wearer. Body harnesses are worn over the wearer's clothes or coveralls.
Body harnesses may be difficult to put on and may be uncomfortable to wear for extended periods due to the tight fitting nature and strap configuration. Body harnesses are also not esthetically pleasing being worn over the worker's clothing. For these and other reasons, some workers are resistant to wearing a harness during the entire period required. Indeed, some companies have experienced significant difficulties in achieving full compliance with body harness use requirements.
There have been attempts to incorporate a body harness in a coverall or other garment, but the resulting combination has exhibited many of the short comings of the body harness per se. Notably, the body harness in a coverall is similarly tight fitting so as to be uncomfortable and cumbersome to work in.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to achieve a fall protection safety suit that is convenient and comfortable to work in so that workers would not resist wearing such a suit during the entire work day.